Cascadia today: ICE getting Portland surveillance data + DRIPA is crucial to First Nations + how wolves impact ecology

Good morning! I'm on the Amtrak Cascades headed home to Seattle from Eugene. It's been a fabulous trip across western Cascadia. I've been spreading the word about Cascadia Journal and Cascadia Democratic Action, meeting with local journalists and activists and getting to know the cities of western Oregon and Washington a little better.

If you find this newsletter keeps you more informed about news and culture across the Pacific Northwest (as well as our pushback against US fascism!) please take a moment to support Cascadia Journal with a paid subscription of $5 or $10 per month. I couldn't do this without the generous support of my subscribers. Thanks! --Andy

How ICE gets Portland surveillance cam data

Investigate West has a fantastic article (originally published by Feet in 2 Worlds) on how ICE and federal immigration authorities are getting access to automatic license plate reader data in the Portland area, despite local and state sanctuary laws. ICE is paying Flock and Vigilant Solutions to acquire data from scores of private surveillance cams (such as Home Depot parking lots) as well as accessing Portland Police Bureau data collected by Vigilant Solutions. In December, the cities of Eugene and Springfield canceled contracts with Flock.

Tell your local leaders you want surveillance cams shut down.

Seattle mayor set ambitious shelter goals

Real Change reports on Seattle mayor Katie Wilson's first 100 days, including an ambitious plan to speed up creation of shelter beds, with a goal of 1,000 new shelter beds in her first year. With the city facing a $140 million budget deficit, Wilson is looking at unspecified new progressive revenue sources, the article notes. PubliCola has more on Wilson's acceleration plan, which would streamline permitting and increase the size of tiny home villages from 100 to 150 units.

Why DRIPA is critical to Indigenous rights in BC

The Tyee talks with various leaders and members of British Columbia's First Nations about the importance of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) and why Indigenous nations are fiercely opposed to premier David Eby's recnet attempts to suspend parts of the act, passed in 2019. DRIPA aligns British Columbia law with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, requiring "free, prior and informed consent" from Indigenous nations regarding any legislation that impacts them. Eby wants to reform the law because of a recent court ruling slowing down the ruling NDP party's rush to approve mining claims.

"“Our human rights are not a threat to this province. It is the ongoing denial of Indigenous rights that is the biggest threat to this province.” – Otis Guichon, Tribal Chief, Tŝilhqot’in First Nation

Washington and Oregon's legislatures should pass legislation recognizing UNDRIP and requiring "free, prior and informed consent" from tribal nations for any legislation that impacts tribes.

How do wolves affect Cascadia's ecology?

Columbia Insight reports on a new study from the Washington Predator -Prey Project that finds that wolves have less of an impact on deer and elk populations than previously reported – making clear that much is still to be learned about the webs of ecological interactions across Cascadia. In related news, Eugene Weekly looks at a bill passed in the Oregon legislature in 2026 that offers compensation to ranchers who lose livestock to wolves – and how the recovery of some 24 wolf packs in eastern Oregon is having a tiny impact on ranching operations.

Murals inspired by memory and eruptions

The Portland Mercury reviews a visual art show by Portland artist Sean Christensen entitled Memory Foam. Inspired by the May 1980 eruption of Loowit (also known as Mount St. Helens) the psychedelic murals swirl and seethe as Christensen contemplates the changes that have occurred since the eruption and his childhood. The show is at Portland's Never Coffee at 537 SW 12th through mid-May.

Thanks for reading. Keep fighting and keep loving! --Andy